Closed Captioned. This program will explain current obstacles to identifying and treating persons with COVID-19 and how to reduce them through existing and proposed laws. In the absence of complete information about the affected population, governments at all levels recommend social distancing to minimize transmission of infection. The program will identify new and proposed laws that facilitate social distancing, comparing them with laws that may hinder containment of the pandemic.

Nahid Bhadelia, Medical Director, Special Pathogens Unit, and Associate Professor, Section of Infectious Diseases, Boston University School of Medicine and National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL), discusses whether the health care system is prepared to respond to the pandemic. Wendy Mariner, Edward R. Utley Professor of Health Law, Ethics & Human Rights, Boston University School of Public Health, discusses whether the legal system is prepared to respond the epidemic, focusing on laws surrounding social distancing. ABA President Judy Perry Martinez and Former Legal Services Corporation President James J. Sandman, Task Force Chair, will report on the newly-created ABA Task Force on Legal Needs Arising Out of the 2020 Pandemic.